Baking Recipes

Beanilla's baking blog features hundreds of recipes for the home cook and vanilla lover. Our recipe collection features beautiful photographs and easy-to-follow instructions that have been developed by our in-house pastry chef.

Orange Ginger Rolls

It’s Saturday morning, and you are awoken to the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls wafting down the hallway. You happily jump up out of your warm bed, and head to the kitchen in search of the comforting aroma. As you approach the kitchen, your significant other greets you with a kiss and a cup of piping hot coffee.

What a pretty picture I have painted; a picture that can be yours tomorrow morning. My orange ginger rolls are a twist on the traditional, and the flavors are familiar but unique. They are gooey, soft, fragrant, and delicious on a lazy weekend morning!

Beanilla carries a variety of high grade baking extracts to suit all of your baking and cooking needs. Flavors range from vanilla to orange, and each extract is fragrant and adds a fresh flavor. While cooking and baking with the extracts, I have been pleased to discover that each extract tastes as close to using fresh fruits and natural flavorings as I have found on the market to date.

Directions:

For the dough: Heat the milk, vegetable oil and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat to just below a boil. Set aside and cool to warm. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.

Add 4 cups of the flour. Stir until just combined, and then cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a relatively warm place for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and the remaining 1/2 cup flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Use the dough right away, or place in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for up to 3 days, punching down the dough if it rises to the top of the bowl. (The dough is easier to work with if it's been chilled for at least an hour or so beforehand.)

To assemble the rolls, remove half the dough from the pan. On a floured baking surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle. The dough should be rolled very thin.

For the filling: Pour 1 cup of the melted butter over the surface of the dough. Use your fingers to spread the butter evenly. Generously sprinkle half of the ground ginger and 1 cup of the sugar over the butter. Don't be afraid to drizzle on more butter or more sugar! Gooey is the goal.

Now, beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly, being careful to keep the roll tight. Don't worry if the filling oozes as you work; that just means the rolls are going to be divine. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is face down. When you're finished, you'll wind up with one long buttery gingery, sugary, gooey

Slip a cutting board underneath the roll and, with a sharp knife, make 1/2-inch slices. One "log" will produce 20 to 25 rolls. Pour a couple of teaspoons of melted butter into disposable foil cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pans, being careful not to overcrowd. (Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cover all the pans with a kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the countertop for at least 20 minutes before baking.

Remove the towel and bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Don't allow the rolls to become overly brown.

While the rolls are baking, make the orange icing: In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla paste, butter and salt. Add in the orange extract and grated orange peel. Whisk until smooth. Taste and add in more orange extract, sugar, butter or other ingredients as needed until the icing reaches the desired consistency. The icing should be somewhat thick but still very pourable.

Remove the pans from the oven. Immediately drizzle the icing over the top. Be sure to get it all around the edges and over the top. As they sit, the rolls will absorb some of the icing's moisture and flavor. They only get better with time... not that they last for more than a few seconds.